Novus Initium
by beautifulpickle
Summary: There was something eerily familiar about Kyo Okada that Kurama stubbornly refuses to acknowledge. But fate has a funny way of working, specially when it comes to things like second chances.
1. Chapter 1

**Before I start the story. The (. . . ) are line breaks since I don't know how to format those damn things myself. **

Very few things surprised Kurama, after years of avoiding traps that killed many sought after thieves, he always thought one step ahead. He almost never flinched, never showed the extent of what he truly felt during a situation, never lost his composure.

Now was not one of those times.

"Hey Suiichi Minamino right?" a pale man with rough jet black hair tugged on his sleeve, catching him off guard.

Kurama's eyes widened as he stood there rooted to the ground. There was something very striking about this young male.

"I'm sorry I forgot to introduce myself, my name is Kyo Okada and I'm in the same Japanese mythology class as you are," Kyo grinned, reaching out for a handshake.

There was something familiar about him. It was the way his shaggy short hair was somehow the perfect shade of black, how his skin was the same pale color Kurama has known all too well, most of all, those dark eyes were the most familiar, for a moment, staring down at him as though he knew something.

"Ah, I'm sorry if I approached you at a bad moment, you seem kinda busy," Kyo smiled sheepishly after Kurama failed to return his awaiting handshake.

"I'm sorry if I seemed out of it, you just reminded me of someone familiar," Kurama apologized, grabbing his hand and shaking it apologetically. He felt sick to his stomach, this guy was the splitting image of—

"Kuronue," Kyo said, as Kurama snapped out of his reverie.

"I'm sorry what?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to study together. I signed up for this class thinking it would be an easy A and I mean come on, it has demons! Who wouldn't want to study them right? Anyways, Professor Takeda's class was harder than I thought and I'm actually starting to struggle. Word on the street was that you were pretty smart so I was thinking what the hell, why not be study buddies."

Kurama raised an eyebrow at the term "study buddies" and the fact that Kyo was blatantly asking him for help on his paper.

"But you said something about Kuronue if I'm not mistaken," he could still feel his heart flicker at the name.

Kyo thought for a moment, trying to remember where he left off in the conversation. "Oh yea! I wanted to do a report on Youko Kurama and Kuronue, you know the legendary thieves or something like that. They seemed kind of interesting, plus we only briefly covered them in class and Takeda seems like the guy who wouldn't want his information reiterated on paper," Kyo paused to look at Kurama. "So what do you say?" he asked hopefully.

"I don't know, I'm fairly busy at the moment," Kurama lied. Truth was, after the Spirit Detectives, he was pretty much bored out of his mind. Besides the occasional missions Koenma still had them do, university was ridiculously easy and barely made a dent on his spare time.

Kyo gave an exasperated sigh, running his hand through his hair, "I'm kind of desperate, I really need to pass this class. Please, I'll do anything, I'll buy you lunch every time we study. Just..." he trailed off before collapsing on the ground kneeling in front of the startled red head. "Please take me as your student!" he yelled, grabbing Kurama's leg, attracting the attention of everyone around their proximity.

Usually this didn't really phase Kurama. He's been kidnapped and cornered before by his peers, but doing this dead middle of the hallway right after all the 4:30 afternoon classes ended was something that required, for lack of a better word, balls.

He leaned forward, grabbed the collar on Kyo's jacket, and yanked him up. "Fine. Meet me in the general library at 9:00 p.m. tomorrow. If I'm going to be helping you we're going to be doing this at my time, so if I say I'm only available at 5 in the morning you either take it or leave it. Understood?"

The grin Kyo gave looked like it could light up all of Tokyo as he practically leaped on Kurama and gave him a huge hug. "Thank you! I swear you won't regret working with me!" he yelled across the hall as he sprinted to his next class.

Kurama smirked, not knowing exactly what he got himself into or how to process what just happened, but he was never one to turn down interesting offers.

. . . . . . . . . .

Kyo was remarkably punctual as Kurama found him sitting in front of the General library holding two cups of coffee and takeout boxes. If it wasn't for his pale face and the light radiating from the library, he would have been nearly invisible in the dark since he was clad from head to toe in his black overcoat.

"Hey," Kurama said, startling the young man.

"Oh, hey," Kyo replied, rubbing his hands together to keep warm from the cold air. He seemed a lot calmer than yesterday.

They stood awkwardly in front of each other for a few moments, before Kyo began to speak. "Hey I got us take out! And coffee if that's fine with you, since I figured we were gonna stay up for a while," he handed Kurama the heated beverage. "Anyways, they probably won't let us eat in the library but I know this cool little room that we can study in. I kind of found it by accident but it's a quiet place to work" Kyo continued, as he grabbed Kurama's arm. "So come on, let's go."

Kurama figured that he's never met someone as touchy as Kyo. The thing about this man is that all his actions seem completely genuine, not really leading to any hidden intentions other than the prospect of actually studying. Of course, his initial instincts always tell him to keep his distance, always observe, never trust, but something about Kyo made it hard.

Kyo lead him to the basement level which Kurama could only describe as something straight out of a horror game. The only thing in their field of vision were bolted military green doors and cement walls, the bad lighting that kept flickering on and off didn't help the ambiance either.

"This all seems really sketchy," Kurama chuckled, "Wouldn't it be easier if we just sneaked into one of the back tables and ate our food there?"

"Nah, now where's your sense of adventure?" Kyo asked in a challenging tone, leading the fox into another winding hallway.

He rolled his eyes,"I thought you wanted me to study with you."

"Trust me, this room is worth it," Kyo smiled as he opened a door with the painted numbers 221. The green door looked old and scratched up with the rusty doorknob being the cherry on top. If it wasn't for Kyo, Kurama would have nearly missed the door since it happened to be located in a small section that could be easily be mistakened for a dead end.

The inside was... Not what he expected. The room itself looked like the size of a normal classroom, one used for small lectures, with a functional light and chalkboard and the desks that lined facing the chalkboard were stacked in a way where all of them created a massive super table. The thing that struck the most were the little light bulbs on strings that hung from the ceiling and the knickknacks that lined the room. Around the room were various baubles. Globes, old books, and little cigar boxes neatly lined the surrounding area. It gave a feeling of an old attic, a place were forgotten memories were once stored.

"This is my pad, my bat cave, whatever you want to call it. Although the best definition would be my illegal storage space where I hide all the useless things I find," he said proudly. "An argument could be made for hoarding I guess," Kyo replied, suddenly aware of all the mess.

"No, it's wonderful! How did you find this place?" Kurama asked incredulously, examining an old book. In a way, this little cave reminded him much of his old life.

"Every place has a hidden area, nooks and crannies people often overlook. I've just always been really good at find things," Kyo shrugged, picking up a little music box and tossing it back and forth. "Apparently before building H was created, some of the classrooms were held in the basements of this building. It was so long ago that most people forgot about it, but maintenance comes down here once in a while to spiffy the space up. Although most of the the rooms are used to store random things. I found this room all dusty and empty, probably because its so hard to locate. I guess you could say that I'm kind of lucky," he stroked the wall fondly.

"And you bought all of this?"

"Most of them I find, I have a keen when it comes to shiny and antiquish things ," he stated.

Kurama could feel himself tense up, trying to shake off the nagging feeling he had in the back of his mind.

"We should start working soon," he took a long sip from his coffee. "We got a long night ahead of us."

. . . . . . . . .

For a guy who was desperate enough to go on his knees and beg for help, Kyo was substantially prepared. Besides his laptop, he had at least half a dozen textbooks regarding Japanese mythology and Kurama found himself working on his own paper rather than helping Kyo. Most of the time, they would sit in silence, working on their report, and from time to time Kyo would ask him a question about a passage and Kurama would help clarify. Sometimes Kyo would ask what he was working on, he'd lean right next to Kurama, leaning close enough for Kurama to smell his aftershave that reminded the fox a little of mint and sage. Kyo sat beside him and honestly their closeness was a bit too intimate for strangers who only met moments ago, but for some reason Kurama allowed himself to let his guard down.

By the time both of them decided to call it quits, it was already one in the morning and although their brains were exhausted, the cheap instant coffee that flowed through their bloodstreams made it impossible for them to sleep.

"I hate it when this happens. Where I just want to crash but for some fucking reason caffeine won't let me do that. Have you ever felt that before?" he complained.

Kurama shrugged, "I don't really sleep much in the first place. I find it doesn't get much done."

Kyo climbed onto the mass of desks, spreading himself on top of it like a lazy cat. "I'm glad that I at least know something about you," he muttered as he stretched himself along the desks.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Kurama raised an eyebrow.

Kyo tucked his hands under his head and gazed at the hanging light bulbs, trying to think of what he was going to say. "Well.. you're an enigma," he started. "No one really knows anything about you, besides the fact that you're smart, and kind, and good looking," he paused at the last part, smirking at the redhead. "But no one that I know of has ever gotten close to you, actually I'm surprised you even accepted my offer, seeing how you're so notorious about keeping your social life so hidden."

"Honestly, I don't really know why I agreed to help you myself," Kurama paused. "But I guess it's cause you reminded me of someone," he leaned back against his chair and closed his eyes.

"Then that person must have been special huh?" Kyo asked. "Who was she?"

"He," Kurama corrected. "And just because you reminded me of someone doesn't mean they were linked to me romantically," he retorted.

"Well if I reminded you of this person, they must have had some type of emotional connection to you. And I can't help linking emotional connections to romance, blame the media, not me," Kyo shrugged. "But how was this person like?"

"He asked a lot of questions and could be a bother sometimes. And he was stubborn and pestered me quite often," Kurama said, shooting a glance at Kyo. "But he was very intuitive. He would reassure me when things would go wrong, and was always beside me when I needed him. He was kind.. smarter than he ever gave himself credit for," Kurama closed his eyes and sighed a deep sigh. "I just wished I could have told him that."

Kyo paused, not knowing what to say. "Did you love him?" heasked after a while.

"In a way, I guess I did," Kurama thought. He didn't exactly know why he was telling this stranger everything about his past life, but Kyo made it so easy for him just to spill everything.

"How did I remind you of him?" Kyo asked, choosing his words carefully.

"You're persistence, definitely," the fox chuckled. "And the fact that both of you look strikingly similar. You're both pale and you both wear black all the time..," Kurama trailed off. "But I guess it was the way you presented yourself, how even being with you for a mere couple of hours made me feel like I've known you for a while," Kurama said truthfully.

A blush crept onto Kyo's face as he cleared his throat, "Ah, well I guess we should get going," he got up from his position on the desks and jumped down.

"Yea it's pretty late," the fox said as he started collecting his belongings.

"Hey, this report isn't due for another three days and I'm not completely done with it yet..." Kyo began. "So I was wondering if you wanted to do this again, or at least until the deadline is over."

Kyo was basically on the balls of his feet waiting for an answer, only to slightly exhale in relief as the redhead replied with a curt, "Sure."

Kurama tried to wave it off nonchalantly, but he couldn't help smiling at least a little bit.

**(A/N): Anywhooo I promised my readers a new Kurama/Kuronue story, and welp. Here it is. Not much to it ahahaha. Aaaand like most of my stories, I have no freaking clue where the hell it's heading but I'll just go with the flow (although that hasn't worked all too well in the past) , but I'll take this plot as a personal challenge. Er something. Anyways, thank you for reading the first chapter, it really does mean a lot for me and I hope you enjoyed it. Even if you didn't, thanks for sticking through. And if it wouldn't be too much trouble, I'd like to know what you think (whether it be in a review or a PM), since it would help greatly with my writing process. **

**Anyways, I will hopefully see you all in the next chapter~**

**PS. Novus Initium is latin for the words "New Beginning"**

**P.P.S sorry if some parts seem off. I don't have a beta and I suck at spelling (even with a spell checker) ; most importantly, I cringe when I re-read my own work. **


	2. Chapter 2

He didn't know why, but he wondered how far he could push this man. After last night, it was plain to see that Kyo actually never needed Kurama's help in the first place, and although Kurama was never one to play games with people (he was too far old for those shenanigans) he found his curiosity sparked. The fox wondered whether this new found excitement was really because Kyo intrigued him, or simply because this was the only interesting thing the human realm could offer him at the moment. And although Kyo's energy seemed very human, there was something very aberrant about him that Kurama couldn't put a finger on.

The next time Kurama texted him was three in the morning with the words:

_You up for studying?_

and within five minutes came a reply:

_You bring the coffee this time._

. . . . .

By the time Kurama had brewed two cups of coffee with an espresso shot in each, Kuronue was already in that same basement room, legs crossed on a desk, with a bag holding a random assortment of chips and sandwiches. The thing that made him stop and stare at the entrance was the basement room itself. The florescent lights were turned off only to be replaced by the hanging light bulbs that lined the ceiling, accompanied by the soft yellowish white hue of the random Christmas lights that ran itself across the corners of the room.

"You were really being serious about the paying for lunch thing weren't you." Kurama said with an amused expression, eying the room around him. "Well doesn't this place look different," he surveyed the area, the lights made the room seem smaller. More intimate.

Kyo grinned as bright as the bulbs that hung from the ceilings. "It looks better this way doesn't it?"

Both of them stayed silent for the most part. The only sounds being heard were the rhythmic clicking of the keyboard and the occasional sipping of coffee, but it was a comfortable silence, one that didn't seem strained.

"What's your view on Youko Kurama and Kuronue?" Kyo asked after a while.

Kurama tensed up, there was something very surreal about reading things about yourself that someone else had written. "Hm? Why are you asking that out of nowhere?"

Kyo laughed, "Well you are here to help me with my questions aren't you?" But anyways, I just wanted your opinion on something. In all the texts I've been reading, Youko Kurama has been mentioned as ruthless, cold, murderous, you know you're typical adjectives for your average mythological killer."

"So what's your question?"

"Was he really as heartless as everyone wrote him to be?" Kyo mumbled, more to himself than to Kurama. "Even though he was a demon, you would think there would be more to him than just a thief."

"I highly doubt this topic would be relevant to your paper," Kurama interjected. "Plus he wasn't just an ordinary thief, he was legendary," the fox said, with a hint of pride.

"Even the worst killers had some type of emotion with something."

Kurama rolled his eyes in response. "He wasn't human. And he wasn't real either."

"Even mythological creatures have emotions!" Kyo retorted.

"They most definitely do not have to," the fox argued back.

"But he had Kuronue," Kyo said. "That's what made him sound so human. Their relationship, some authors even called it borderline homoerotic—"

"_Kuronue_ was just another pawn he used to get his way. If you read the texts closer you'll see that he left his "friend" to bleed to death while he fled like a coward. Whether you like it or not, Youko Kurama was no different from any other blood curdling demon any mythology book. He was vile and selfish, inside and out, not caring who died or lived as long as he got what he wanted out of it," Kurama informed in an irritated manner. Digging up his well buried past was not something he would want to deal with in the middle of the night.

Kyo stood silent for a moment, surprised by the red head's outburst. "And this is exactly why I asked you to help me with my paper," he laughed, typing furiously. "I needed someone who could argue with me. Someone with an outside perspective on my otherwise cluttered mind." he paused. "But I still can't agree with you on your opinion. Unlike most people, I refuse to believe that anything can be completely evil. You can't have bad without the good."

"I wish I could think that romantically," Kurama smiled, suddenly feeling a bit less irritated.

"You make romanticism sound the same as naive and ignorant," Kyo frowned. "But I'd rather be ignorant over bitter any day."

"So you're calling me bitter?" Kurama challenged.

"Not really bitter. Just bored."

"How in the world—"

"Because when I see you, I don't see someone sad or hurt or all that crap. I see someone bored out of their mind, someone who needed something interesting. It looked like you were dying in that room of students," Kyo interrupted.

"I think you're over exaggerating on your observations."

"Maybe I am," the raven haired man shrugged. "But I thought, maybe this guy needs someone. And not because you're lonely or anything. You need someone who could see through that stupid facade you put up, someone interesting."

"And what makes you think you can be that person," Kurama pressed on.

"Because I'm special enough for you to call me around three in the morning," he said with a smug smile.

Kurama opened his mouth, trying to think of something, anything witty to say. He almost pouted when he couldn't think of anything, but Kyo made a point, he didn't take his time out of his day for anyone.

"Don't get all sad, you're kind of special too I guess," Kurama could see his pale cheeks redden, even with the dim lighting. Kyo looked around the room, trying to avoid the fox's gaze. "I've never shown this place to anyone. In a way it's sort of like my safe haven, I actually hang out here more than I do in my dorm," he forced a laugh. Kyo was only human, to any demon he wouldn't mean much, but for some reason Kurama secretly felt strangely honored. It was like this room was apart of Kyo, something that no one really got to see.

Kurama stayed silent for a moment, opening his mouth to say something, but stopping himself before this conversation went too far. "We should get back to our essays," Kuama suggested. Kyo looked flustered and slightly disappointed from the sudden subject change, but he proceeded bury his head in the stack of old books.

They talked a bit more after that, forgetting why they were in the room in the first place. In those few moments of interaction, it was as if they were in kindergarten again. It was as if the barriers that they built as they got older broke down, and all that's left was a friendship that was meant to happen a long time ago. It was the most interesting human connection Kurama has ever experienced, and it made him realize again why the human realm wasn't always as dreary as he made it seem.

**. . . . . . . . . . . . .**

The study sessions kept happening until their papers were finally due, and every night (or early morning) they spent together always ended with the pair knowing a bit more about each other. They always stayed up way longer than necessary, focusing on work half the time and messing around for the rest of it. Kurama would share certain memories of his human childhood and Kyo would grab an item on the floor and tell a story of how he found it. All of this was in a span on three nights but it's as if they've known each other for years.

After the project was completed, there was technically no reason to hang out, and Kyo was much shyer to ask for their usual late night conversations since they didn't have a reason to meet anymore. For about two weeks Kurama heard nothing from Kyo, and although he felt a sense of loss, he figured most human relations ended like this and that it was for the best.

By the end of the second week, they received their reports back, with a text from Kyo soon after reading:

_Come by my den tonight. I have to show you something. _

He tried to brush of this unusual hopeful feeling, but he found it hard to swallow it down.

**. . . . . ...**

The room was left in it's usual glory. Knickknacks were still neatly lined, and the bulbs were lit up to illuminate the entire room. The teachers desk they usually worked together side by side held a glass bottle and a piece of paper.

"Guess who aced their paper," Kyo smiled, hugging the fox from behind.

Kurama jumped from the sudden contact and smirked. "I guess you started celebrating early you smell like—"

"Rum," Kyo finished his sentence. "It was such a momentous occasion, busting our ass out every night for this stupid paper, that I decided. Why not? Let's relax a little shall we?" he said, slipping his arms off of the red head to reach for the glass bottle.

Kurama tried his best to stifle a laugh, "And how many exactly have you had?"

"Two.. or three. I lost count. Sorry for starting without you but the pin up girl on the bottle told me to do it!" he whined, pointing at the inside of the glass handle which showed a picture of a 1930's sailor pin up model. The bottle revealed her figure the more the liquid was consumed.

"Maybe you should slow down," Kurama cautioned as he reached out for the amber colored drink.

"Or maybe you should get on my level," he suggested, thrusting the bottle outward.

"Drunk and stupid isn't a good look for me," he looked at the drink questioningly.

"I beg to differ," he pulled the redhead close, gripping his dress shirt to the point where their noses almost touched. "I don't think it's remotely possible for you to look bad," he smirked. His voice sounded cocky and sure, but his face said otherwise.

Kurama shot him a vulpine grin, knowing very well where this night was going. "We'll see about that," he replied as he reached for the rum and swallowed.

. . . . .

**A/N: Yea, I know it's short and a teaser and I apologize, but I promise that the next chapter will be up soonish (liiike in less than a week fer sure)! Thanks for all the reviews/ follows/ and basically any form showing me that my story is being read. **


	3. Chapter 3

After a good number of swigs between the both of them, the room began to spin and the floor suddenly felt very comfortable. Kurama hated getting drunk, it lowered his inhibitions and he always loved keeping his composure. The only time he would ever drink was after a heist, when Kuronue would often beg him for a drink or two to celebrate.

But right now he just felt relaxed and oddly safe. His face felt numb and Kyo's head on his chest felt oddly natural. Kyo was a stereotypical drunk, he was loud and boisterous, he slurred his words at times and wouldn't stop talking, but most of all, he was a bit of a cuddle slut. He was more touchy than usual, not enough to do anything, but enough for his actions to be too close for comfort. Kurama was almost the opposite, content on just listening and sitting around, not really caring who touched him.

It somehow ended with both of them climbing onto the massive super desk, lying with their backs facing the ceiling, watching some of the old light bulbs flicker. Kyo cuddled close to the fox, just enough for his breath to be on Kurama's neck.

"For a second, I didn't think you'd come," he whispered after a moment.

"Hm? Why wouldn't I?"

"Cause you're so.. you're so you. I can't read you. I don't know what your next move is going to be or what you're thinking and usually I'm _so _ good at that," he inhaled sharply, smelling the faint scent of fresh earth and roses.

"I'm not as cool as you make me out to be," Kurama chuckled.

"But you aaaare," he whined. "You don't try to be and that's what makes you awesome and that's why.." Kyo shook his head and stopped himself.

"Why what..?" Kurama glanced at the young man, waiting for him to continue.

"Nothing," he said hurriedly. "Forget about it."

Kurama tried not to roll his eyes, it was almost amazing how obvious the young man was being. "Alright then. Can I at least ask you a question?"

"Hmmm?" Kyo mumbled sleepily.

"From the moment I read the first part of your essay I already realized you were perfectly capable of doing this assignment yourself," he replied. "So why were you so desperate for my help?" Kurama was pushing it, he was definitely pushing it, but there was something very exciting about drunk flirting.

Kyo suddenly sat upright from his otherwise comfortable position. "Well I guess I kind of have to spill everything out don't I?" he laughed nervously. "I didn't need your help. My writing skills are actually pretty fucking amazing, but I felt like that was the best excuse I would ever have to interact with you," he confessed as the blood rushed up to his face.

"And you couldn't have just asked to hang out with me because...?" Kurama continued.

"Because I don't think I could stand being outright rejected," he let out a hollow laugh, suddenly seeming a lot more sober than he was a few moments ago. "Before this class even started, I would see you around campus and I was so enthralled by you, not because you were smart or kind or because everyone loved you..." he trailed off.

"Then what exactly made you interested in me?" Kurama didn't realize he was holding his breath.

"Besides the fact that you're beautiful, there was was an air about you that I can't really describe. From the moment I first saw you, I could already realize that you were different from the rest. The way you talked. The way you looked at people, how you interacted. You held yourself upright and proper, listening to everyone, yet you masked your sadness so well," he paused staring down at Kurama. "You are everything I want to be" he bit his lip.

Kurama tried to suppress a smile. Even if Kuronue was only telling him this with a drunken conscience, he found it terribly endearing.

"I began to become more.. interested. You have no idea how you can capture someone's attention and carelessly throw them aside. I've seen students fall head over heels for you and you didn't even brush them a second glance," his voice rose a little. "And I'm sitting here in front of you right now, drunk and blabbering nonsense, and I still have no fucking clue why you even want to be around me! Because there I'm just me and you're..Oh god, I must sound like a complete idiot. I'm really sorry." Kyo moved towards the edge of the desk, as if he were about to leave.

Kurama grabbed his arm and roughly yanked Kyo back to his side. "I didn't know—" Kurama tried to interject, only to be cut off.

"You didn't do anything wrong. You did nothing wrong except make me feel like I was worth something these past couple of days. I wanted to talk to you because... I don't know, I felt like I could connect with you in some weird romanticized vision of mine. The last thing I want to do is get categorized as one of those people you never bother looking at again," he babbled. "And—"

"Kyo.."Kurama said, trying to gain the rambling man's attention.

"And the more time I spent with you the more I realized—"

"Kyo, listen to me."

"The more I realized I screwed myself over big time because I fucking—"

"Kyo!" Kurama raised his voice.

"What?" the raven haired man responded obliviously.

"You need to learn how to shut up," Kurama's warm mouth came down on the young man in front of him, reaching for the back of his head and pulling Kyo closer. Kyo tipped his head back, and opened his mouth slightly, letting Kurama do whatever he needed to do. Considering the situation, the kiss was surprisingly slow and languid. Kyo's hands somehow tangled their way into the fox's red locks and pulled on Kurama's shirt with his free hand.

Kurama mentally laughed, never in his life he thought he'd be in a stereotypical hook up situation. He never expected his most intimate human contact to be caused by a bottle of rum in an empty basement room, but at that moment, he didn't really give a damn. Because at that moment, all he wanted to do was try to physically prove to Kyo wrong. Prove that he wasn't just another ordinary human being, that in an incredibly short amount of time, he had somehow wormed his way into Kurama's conscience, and that itself was an already incredible feat.

Kyo leaned back against the desks, pulling Kurama down with him. Their kiss was a mixture of rum and liquid courage, both of them getting more intoxicated by the second. Kurama pressed himself against the young man, his knee pushed in between Kyo's. A few moments later and his hand found it's way into Kyo's rucked-up black shirt, feeling the warm taught flesh, and he realized that it's been a long time since he's felt this way. It's been a while that he's had any skin on skin contact and he didn't realize how much he missed it until now.

Kyo felt dizzy from the all the pleasure and alcohol and shock. Never in his life he thought he would ever feel anything to the bliss he was feeling now. It was like one of those stupid rom-coms that never happened to anyone. He never thought things would work out his way, that somehow things would fall into place and he would actually get what he wanted. His thumbs were pressed hard against Kurama's face, his fist still balled up tightly onto Kurama's shirt, as if he was afraid the red head would disappear at any second. He felt Kurama's hands slide up his shirt, his fingers were surprisingly cold to the touch as he arched from the contact. Kyo gave a soft breathy moan as he felt Kurama's hands expertly undo his belt buckle.

"Fuck. Wait," Kyo grabbed Kurama's hand, stopping him midway from unzipping his pants.

"What's wrong?" Kurama frowned.

"I'm probably going to regret this in the morning, but I really fucking like you," he exclaimed with a groan.

"And I thought I made it clear I liked you back," Kurama replied, running his hand slowly along Kyo's side , just enough to lift his shirt up and expose a bit of flesh.

"Call me traditional, but I don't want to do anything serious while we're both wasted out of our minds," he muttered miserably.

"I never found you to be the responsible type," Kurama laughed as he began to stroke Kyo's hip.

"And I never thought there would be a very experienced sex freak underneath those books you were always burying your nose in," Kyo answered back.

"Between me and you, I'm not _that _drunk," Kurama replied, nuzzling the place where Kyo's neck and shoulder met.

"You're making this incredibly difficult for me you know that," Kyo's breath hitched as Kurama began to trail kisses along his neck. "But my statement still stands. Nothing too serious," he found it hard to think of words to say when everything just feels so good and Kurama really wasn't really being fair at all.

"All right. I guess this will just have to do for tonight," Kurama murmured into Kyo's neck, only to find his way back up to Kyo's mouth. The dark haired man smiled into the kiss, locking his arms loosely around the fox's neck and pulling him down.

**A/N: Gah, I already have the next chapter lined up! Look at me being all productive (now all I have to do is edit the damn thing) Thank you all for keeping up and reading!**

**Grey-Rain-Cloud: As for your question. It's the latter, sort of. You'll see :)**


	4. Chapter 4

By the time Kurama groggily opened his eyes from his drunken slumber, his phone read 9AM. He woke up with the taste of morning breath and rum on his tongue, and a very tired looking college student laying comfortably on his chest. He looked down and felt the corners of his mouth curl up into a soft smile; awake Kyo was so animated and passionate, so full of energy. Asleep he was calm, vulnerable.. so young. Stripped from all the smugness and slight arrogance, he looked absolutely harmless.

Kurama reached over and stroked his hair, marveling at the familiar feeling. He often played with Kuronue's hair when he found the bat sleeping, he always expected dark hair to be rough and coarse, and was always a bit surprised to find it being as soft as silk.

Kyo stirred from his sleep, his eyes fluttering open to meet green ones. "Morning beautiful," he teased as Kyo scowled.

"Mmm what time is it," he muttered as he got up and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.

"Around nine."

"Who the hell is up at this ungodly hour," he groaned as he Kurama heard him thud back on the table.

Kurama just shook his head and jumped off the table. "My first class started at 8," he checked his watch, realizing that he did in fact, miss an hour of his botany class.

"Shit, I'm sorry. It wasn't that important, was it?"

Kurama simply shrugged and slipped on his coat. "Well worth it in my opinion. This morning has been better than most," he smirked. His shirt was unbuttoned half way from the night before, and Kurama made sure to make a show out of buttoning them slowly.

"About that. ." Kyo opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but stopped halfway, his eyes following Kurama's nimble fingers. "Last night was pretty interesting," he finished as Kurama snapped on his last button.

Kurama raised his eyebrow. "Interesting. Two guys getting drunk on a Friday night. Sounds more sad than interesting to me," he remarked.

"I didn't think it was sad. If anything it was pretty fun," Kyo grinned as he sat on the edge of the desk. "I guess it would be a bad time to ask if you're gay or not."

"Seeing how I shoved my tongue in your mouth last night should make it pretty obvious," Kurama answered. "But to be pretty specific, I don't specifically care for gender."

"You always want to be sure. People do crazy shit when they're drunk," Kyo shot him a knowing look. He paused for a moment before continuing. "Thanks for not leaving in the morning, you don't regret anything do you?," Kyo stared at his fingers, knotting them nervously.

"For someone who seems so sure of himself most of the time, you sure are insecure," Kurama walked up to the dark haired man and placed his hands on Kyo's shoulders. "I like you, and I'd appreciate it if you'd get that through your thick head."

"I can't help but be insecure!" he shouted, his face red with embarrassment. "I've liked you for a while, and things like this don't usually happen to people like me" he replied as he covered his face with his hands.

"It couldn't have been that long, I mean we only met each other this semester," Kurama couldn't help but look at Kyo with a bemused expression.

"Actually.. it's been longer than that," Kyo confessed, moving his fingers to peek at the red-head's reaction.

Kurama raised an eyebrow ,"How long?"

"During orientation for first year students. I accidentally bumped into you outside of the auditorium and kind of fell in love with you from then on," he blushed.

"That's..." Kurama thought. "That's actually was quite a while," he chuckled, trying to recall his first day stepping into the university.

"I mean it wasn't obsessive or anything since I didn't know you. I don't have shrines of your face or voodoo dolls with locks of your hair. You kind of just occupied my mind whenever I saw you," he blushed. "To the point where it physically bothered me to know that I didn't know you. So in a way, yea you ruined my life a little," Kyo laughed.

"Well all I can say is that I'm sorry I've kept you waiting all this time," he tilted Kyo's face up to meet his eyes.

"Yea, you kind of owe me for all that time I wasted fawning over you," Kyo's voice was low, almost listless, as he stared up at Kurama, reaching up to touch his neck.

"And how would I do that?" Kurama leaned towards him, placing a hand on his thigh. His hand crept up higher as he leaned forward.

Kyo shrugged. "I'll think of something," he craned his neck to meet Kurama half way.

Kurama smirked and took his hand off of Kyo's thigh . "You wanted to take it slow remember?" He leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Kyo's forehead.

Kyo just pouted, and being the brat he was, he pulled the fox down and kissed him.

* * *

The great and legendary Youko Kurama did not do "relationships". As responsible as he sounded, sometimes had trouble caring for some of his plants, much less another being. He's had his fair share of maidens (and a few men) but the closest and most intimate relationships he's had has been strictly platonic. There was a difference being emotionally connected and to be physically attracted to someone and Kyo was beginning to fulfill both those roles very quickly. There was just something about his carefree attitude that struck the fox, something refreshing that reminded him of his youth.

The first few days after the whole incident was.. normal to say the least. In a way, both of them were backtracking, taking babysteps into this relationship that both of them couldn't quite label. They talked frequently, usually over lunch or a coffe break, and Kurama learned a few things about Kyo. He learned that his favorite ice cream was chocolate chip, and his favorite color was black (go figure), he often has trouble falling asleep at night, and that he's always felt a bit out of place with everyone else. Kyo often tried not to cross boundaries when asking questions and Kurama would try to remember to stay cautious about his answers, he actually found it quite hard to keep out facts about his job and his past life when Kyo made him feel so at ease.

Weirdly enough, the things that he once found boring and trivial were actually starting to be enjoyable. He liked the conversations with Kyo, the routine lunch breaks and study days, he liked opening his phone up to a new text, and arguing over philosophy and ideas and whatnot. He liked the way Kyo would always find a secluded place or corner, and when no one was watching, he'd quickly give a light peck on the side of Kurama's mouth or near his ear. He kissed places that were so insignificant and made them feel special. Kurama wondered how he could feel so content after believing he was living day by day in a monotonous existence. Kurama was well versed when it came to many things, but romance was never his strong point, and in a way, being with Kyo made him feel different, almost new.

What he didn't like was that look that Kyo would give him, the one filled with questions and wants and hopes, a look that seemed all too familiar. He didn't like laughing and bantering and the fact that in a very short amount of time he found himself getting too comfortable around Kyo because he knew that this boy would be just another person he'd have to add to his already long list of the people he'd eventually have to say goodbye to. And the more he tried to keep telling himself that Kyo was just another human, the more he realized that it wasn't true.

There was this unexplainable connection he had felt when he first met Kyo, and it wasn't a physical attraction. As cliche as it sounds, it was as if he found a piece that went missing in his life. Kyo was a fresh of breath air; he was like morning coffee, like the musty yet comfortable smell of leather bound books and tattered pages, he was that object, that time, that moment that wouldn't mean much in your daily life, yet you would be so thrown off without it.

"Do you collect anything yourself?" Kyo asked as he began dusting what looked like an antique globe.

"I used to collect quite a lot of stuff back then," Kurama laughed internally. He began playing with a daruma matryoshka doll, opening each piece and setting them on the table according to height.

"Hm really? Like what?" Kyo questioned as he began to dust his other objects.

Kurama placed a finger on his chin. trying his best to describe his stolen treasures. "Just anything that I found valuable."

"Like this fox tail thingy," Kyo asked as he started playing with the keychain on the redheads backpack.

"Oh that old thing. It's sort of like my good luck charm, I've had it nearly forever," Kurama smiled as he remembered buying that keychain from one of those mall vendors.

Kyo's eyes lit up, "You have a good luck charm too? I mean a lot of people think it's silly but I still believe in that kind of stuff," he reached into his pocket and pulled out something that made Kurama's heart jump onto his throat. "Anyways, this is mine. I know it's lame but I had before I could even remember," he pressed the pendant onto Kurama's hand.

Kurama grabbed the object, trying his hard to keep his hands from shaking. It looked the same, it even _felt_ the same. The silver pendant with the red stone in the middle glimmered like it always had, and suddenly a wave of nostalgia and confusion hit the usually composed fox.

"You okay there?" Kyo reached forward and placed the back of his hand on Kurama's forehead only for it to be swatted away.

"Where did you get this?" Kurama nearly yelled as he backed away and clutched his pendant to his chest. His pulse quickened and he began to feel dizzy, and the longer he held onto the pendant the more he knew it was the real thing.

Kyo put his hands up in defense, as he slowly tried stepping forward"I-I told you, I had it since forever, I don't even remember where I got it. Why the hell are you acting so weird? What's so important abou—"

"I'm sorry, I have to go," Kurama interrupted, as he quickly turned his heel and shut the door, leaving a very scare, and quite confused Kyo.

* * *

Koenma only has a number of little pleasures to get him through the day without trying to commit sepukku right on his desk, and when he doesn't get them, well then the whole day is pretty much ruined.

"George! Where is my strawberry pudding! I've been stamping these papers for hours and I ask for one thing and I have to wait an eternity for it! What is this madness! I don't pay you to just sit around and do nothing!" the brown haired man shouted.

"Koenma sir, you don't pay me at all," the ogre frowned. "And I was busy trying to keep a guest away, but he insisted he needed to see you now," as George twiddled his fingers nervously.

"Can't you see I'm busy?!," Koenma shouted.

"Well you'll have to spare a minute or two to explain this to me," Kurama angrily strode up to Koenmas desk and slapped the pendant right onto the table. "Actually, I changed my mind, you have exactly one minute to tell me what the hell is going on."

Koenma's eyes widened as he swiftly retreated under his desk "I plead the fifth!" Koenma yelled, cowering in fear.

"Koenma, you tell me what the hell is going on, and _maybe_ your death will be a little less painful," Kurama said, his voice dripping with malice.

Koenma crawled out from under his desk and dusted himself off. "I swear you can be scarier than Hiei sometimes," he muttered.

Kurama tapped his fingers impatiently on the mahogany desk, "I'm waiting."

The spirit prince stood up and sighed, "Well I guess there's really no point in hiding anything anymore," he said as he fumbled around a filing cabinet to pull out a plain manilla colored envelope. "Here," he shoved the envelope to Kurama.

The heading read Kyo Okada. It held files regarding his basic information as well as a frontal picture of his face. And underneath his file was a picture of a familiar bat demon.

"I don't understand," Kurama said, perplexed. He scanned his eyes over the pape,r in obvious confusion.

"Out of all people you're the one who should understand the most," Koenma replied. "That's Kuronue, Kyo is Kuronue."

"But he was dead. I _saw_ him die," he leaned in close and managed to pull the words out.

"You're not the only one who can crawl out of deaths reach. If these last few years taught you anything, it's that some souls are more resilient than others."

"But I didn't feel anything. I didn't feel the slightest spark of demon energy."

"Not all bodies are the same Kurama. Some people take more time to awaken and remember their past life. Some choose not to remember. His body was probably dormant for years without him even knowing."

Kurama stared hard at Koenma, suddenly feeling his anger dissipating . Memories and questions and new found answers flooded his brain as he tried to process all this information. He should have seen the signs earlier on, he should have known who Kyo was, yet in a way he didn't want himself to have false hope. In a world where everything could happen, Kuronue being alive wasn't something that crossed his mind.

"We chose not to tell you that he was alive. After all, you two were the most notorious thieves in Makai and father thought it was best if Kuronue was kept a secret." He looked at the stunned fox and softened his expression. "If it was my choice, I would have told you sooner."

"No it's all right," Kurama's jaw tightened he grasped the table harder , "If I had known sooner, I probably wouldn't have wanted him to remember me anyways. Not after what I've done," his smile faltered and he found it difficult to keep his composure. "I'm not sure he would want to remember me either."

* * *

His phone greeted him with 12 voice mails, 4 texts, and 20 missed calls in the last 24 hours, which is actually quite reasonable considering the way he practically bolted out of the door without an ounce of explanation about his odd behavior. The fox sighed and checked the unanswered messages, each sounding more worried than angry. There were moments where he dreamed about meeting Kuronue again in the spirit realm; in these dreams he'd often know exactly what to say, but dreaming about something and having the chance to actually do it are two different things.

He texted Kyo to meet him near the Machida gardens near the school campus. The garden was small but cute and it was lucky enough to have it's own greenhouse where the botanist studies were held. It wasn't much, but the gardens always managed to relax him when he needed it the most. The sun had already set and the periwinkle haze that covered the sky began to turn blue; it was dark but the night was still young. Kurama bent down next to the flowers nearby, he closed his eyes and breathed in their floral smell.

"It looks like the flowers are leaning towards you," Kyo approached him with a fond smile.

Kurama opened his eyes to see that his spirit energy did indeed make the plants lean forward. As he stepped away, the flowers slowly uncurled themselves and took to their natural shape. "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there," he stood up and looked at the tall man staring at him. It was as if he was seeing Kyo for the first time, and in a way, he was. The more he looked at Kyo, the more he saw Kuronue. It made him feel stupid at the fact that he didn't even think of connecting the two, but a part of him saw the similarities as clear as day, he simply pushed it to the back of his mind of fear and disappointment of being wrong.

"Hey, are you okay..?" Kyo asked with caution. "Last night you left out of nowhere, you kind of seemed spooked," he placed his hand on the back of Kurama's head and pulled him forward, examining his face.

And for the first time in a very long time, Kurama blushed. Usually close contact didn't faze him; Youko Kurama does _not_ get flustered. Kurama knows when he's got someone wrapped around his fingers and he knows exactly what to do with them, but Kuronue always found a way to do the impossible. He stared at his old friend, and without even a moment's notice, he crushed their lips together.

One hand held Kyo's waist tightly while his other hand pulled the dark haired man into a bruising kiss. The contact wasn't soft and sweet at all, the kiss held decades worth of anger and remorse, it was the last words Kurama wished he'd say, the apology that never left his lips. He thrust his tongue into Kyo's mouth, gripping him tightly until both of them couldn't breathe. Kyo opened his mouth a little wider and kissed Kurama back, trying to brush off all the shock and confusion. He didn't care where they were or who saw them, because he always seemed to lose himself a little when kissing the red-head.

They both pulled away, with heavy breaths and lips swollen. "What the—," Kyo began. He looked utterly confused as he tried to comprehend what the hell was going on.

"I'm sorry. I'm really really sorry," Kurama whispered. His head was down, hands still clutched to Kyo's black overcoat.

"Hey if it's about yesterday, it's fine. We can talk about it later if you want," Kyo noticed the distress in Kurama's voice as he rubbed small soothing circles on the red-head's back.

Kurama shook his head and to his embarrassment, started sniffling. He chanted senseless apologizes under his breath over and over until they didn't even sound like words anymore. Kyo just hugged him tighter, letting Kurama prattle on and on, not understanding the situation yet not bothering to push the subject further. He whispered sweet nothings until the red head grew quiet with his arms hanging loose on his sides. He looked so scared, so defeated and all Kyo wanted was to find out what made him like this and beat the crap out of it.

"Suiichi, are you okay?" Kyo whispered soothingly, stroking Kurama's hair.

"Yea, just.. Just don't go anywhere anymore," he murmured, burying his face on his friend's neck and shutting his eyes tightly.

Kyo placed his chin on top of the mass of red hair and held Kurama tighter. "I spent all this time trying to get your attention, so there is no way in hell I'm letting you leave," he laughed. He could hear Kurama's muffled chuckle and he just smiled. The snow began to fall that night, little white flakes floated down listlessly onto the couple's heads. The temperature began to drop and before they both knew it, the ground they stood on was covered with a thin white powder. It was cold and the wind was unforgiving, but Kyo just held his friend, and Kurama held him back, with no intention of letting go.

* * *

A/N: Auughhh I'm losing interest in this story. I had this whole awesome plan of where it was going but after looking back on it, I'm sort of like ehhh. But I will continue writing, because I'm stubborn like that. Thank you all for reading, reviewing, and following. I love you all!.


	5. Chapter 5

**Because sometimes even Kurama could be an idiot**

* * *

By the time they came back, snowflakes had gotten stuck in Kurama's hair and the two men came back into the school building, wide eyed and noses red.

Kyo owned one of the larger studios on campus, equipped with a kitchen, a bathroom, and even a closet that was big enough to walk in but not large enough to be considered a walk in closet if that made any sense. His room was remarkably barren, save for a few books with dog eared flaps strewn onto his study table, along with a good number of edited research papers. He hung posters of various artists, ranging from Gustav Klmit to the ever popular Banksy. The prints were organized in neat sections, spacing a few inches from each other.

The room was considerably cold, even when Kuronue turned up the heater, but Kurama felt oddly comfortable.

"So this is your room huh?" The walk up to Kyo's apartment was silent for the most part, and Kurama was thankful for that. He hadn't quite found a way to bring up his reaction to the necklace as well as how he acted back at Machida gardens, and honestly, he wasn't sure he was ready.

"Yea, it's not much. But then again, I'm never really here in the first place," Kyo walked into the kitchen and opened the cupboard doors, taking out a few items. "You want any tea? I got honey and rock sugar to sweeten it up a little," Kurama nodded as Kyo took out a plain stainless steel kettle. He sat down on the edge of Kyo's bed and laughed at the outer space duvet.

"I like your duvet cover."

"Hey, don't you go laughing at that, I got those sheets around middle school and I figured that I didn't want to buy myself new ones," he stated defensively.

"I'm sure that's the reason," Kurama teased. He welcomed himself onto the bed, kicking his shoes off and stretching his body until they felt like they were sinking into Kyo's mattress. The room began to warm up, and the snow that hit the window left an serene aura in the small dorm. Kurama felt a dip in the side of the bed as Kyo motioned for him to scoot over.

"Your hair is soaking into the sheets," Kyo pointed out. The snowflakes that gathered onto Kurama's hair melted themselves into the pillows and the bed sheets, leaving that uncomfortable feeling that was similar to sleeping with wet hair right after taking a shower.

"Yours are too," Kurama reached out to stroke his damp hair, running his hands and feeling his hair slick back. He wondered if his hair was damp enough to make Kyo look like Yusuke and laughed internally at the thought. He looked up at the ceiling and noticed little green colored stickers scattered across the top wall. "You have glow in the dark stars," he chuckled, earning an red-faced Kyo to groan in embarrassment. "I think you may have been lying about the time you got your bed sheets," Kurama added, eliciting a growl from the raven-haired man.

"Stop criticizing me on my sense of décor."He rolled over and straddled Kurama, his face inches apart from the red head. Kyo's hair was slightly mussed up from the snow, and his cheeks were bright red due to the cold, but he looked absolutely adorable and Kurama found it hard not to kiss every part of his face.

"I never criticized it. In fact, it's... cute," he grinned. Kyo scowled, his eyebrows knitted together even when he pressed his face onto Kurama's and closed the distance between them. Kyo bit Kurama's bottom lip, as Kurama opened his mouth, allowing Kyo to kiss him fully. This week has been emotionally draining and Kurama wanted nothing more than to just lie in bed with Kyo next to him. Kyo pressed lazy kisses along the side of Kurama's face and onto his jawline as the red head felt himself shudder.

He pulled apart after a while, only to let out a small whine. "It frustrates me beyond belief when I think about how much I like you," Kyo sighed, plopping himself down onto Kurama's chest.

"You have no idea how you make me feel either," Kurama frowned, knowing there was much more to his words. Besides the fact that he did like this boy very much, knowing that Kyo harbored Kuronue's memories only made things more confusing for him and only left him wondering what he was going to do about the situation.

"Well you never show it," Kyo's voice was strained, and Kurama suddenly felt guilty, realizing that he was quite aloof when he was around in public with Kyo. They didn't really officially have a name either, they weren't dating, but they were far past flirting, and that left Kurama wondering what he was and was not allowed to do with Kyo. "But I'm fine with that, I like you just the way you are," Kyo spoke into his shirt. Kurama found his act of affection oddly endearing.

Kyo laid on Kurama's chest, trying to listen to the rise and fall of his—

"Hey, this is kind of weird, and it may be because you're wearing a really thick sweater or something. But I can't hear your heartbeat," Kyo placed his hands on both sides of the bed, pressing his ear harder onto Kurama's chest. He frowned when he failed the familiar sound and sat up, looking at the red-head strangely.

Kurama opened his mouth, trying to think of an excuse when suddenly the blaring sound of the kettle entered their ears. "The tea is ready, we should take it off stove before it burns," Kurama nearly pushed Kyo off the bed as he reached to turn off the hot water. He wondered what else he would have to lie to Kyo about before things would get out of hand.

This is why Kurama never bothered with human relationships in the first place. It would never work out, it would be based off of some well kept secret surrounded by a plethora of lies that would soon fail to work. But knowing that there was a chance Kyo would somehow remember his last life left a determined feeling in Kurama's skin, and he himself knew how hard it was to stop an idea, specially when an thought like this intrigued him so much.

* * *

"How do I make Kyo regain Kuronue's memories," Kuama strode into the halls of the spirit realm, with George clutching onto his heels.

"Sir Koenma, I tried my best to stop him but—"

"Save your breath George, I'm already used to how useless you are," Koenma screamed at the blubbering mess of an ogre. "Kurama, you have to realize that you can't just barge into my office as you please since I am a very busy man," he made a show of angrily stamping page after page not even bothering to look up from his desk.

"I caught you during your lunch hour and you're stamping photocopied pages of the recipe for spirit food," he glowered, standing in front of the spirit prince with his arms akimbo.

Koenma gulped and sank back into his chair, cursing himself for forgetting to realize that he was arguing with a very observant and deadly spirit fox. He straightened himself up as much as possible, trying not to look scared. Truth was, out of the four spirit detectives, he feared Kurama the most, mainly because the fox was a master at manipulation, he could seem so amiable one minute and turn into a vicious killer in the next. The scary thing is no one would ever expect it for someone as approachable as him.

"Kurama, the information I gave you was already supposed to be a well kept secret. It's kind of amazing how things worked our way actually, because if Kuronue gained his memories earlier on, he would most likely be looking for you as well. Regardless, the point was, this secret was supposed to be kept specifically from _you, _and me disclosing anything would just be going behind my fathers back and disregarding orders," he explained slowly, as if he was chastising a child.

"Koenma please, I'm not threatening you and I'm not trying to make this a business transaction. I'm asking you as a friend, please tell me how to get him back. The past was a long time ago, and one of the biggest reasons I even bothered giving up my profession was _because _of Kuronue," Koenma couldn't explain the look Kurama gave him, only that it made him rethink everything about the fox. It wasn't desperate or pleading, it was so much more than that. It was the same look he had when he fought Karasu in the Dark Tournament, a man willing to risk his life over this one little detail.

"I.. I," Koenma stuttered, trying his hardest to regain his title of authority. He exhaled a heavy breath, hanging his head down, knowing he was going to regret this later. "Fine. Fine I'll tell you, but on one condition! If Kyo Okada does happen to remember who he once was, he will report back to me as soon as possible," Koenma almost winced when the words came out of his mouth, but the expression Kurama wore was ecstatic to say the least. The red-head tried to bite his lip to keep from smiling, and Koenma would be lying if he said that the reaction Kurama has didn't warm his heart even a little bit.

"I promise," Kurama gave Koenma his rapt attention as all the viciousness on his face was quickly replaced by enthusiasm.

"Okay. So what Kyo needs is a catalyst, something that can kick start his demon energy into restarting. Whether that be an old memory or something that happened to him near death. All he needs is a strong reminder of his past life for his memories to get a move on. But you have to remember, it also depends how deep his memories are hidden. There might be a chance that their too buried in to ever properly remember," Kurama stared hard at Koenma, trying to process the possibility that there may be a chance Kuronue would never remember anything. No. He would remember, Kurama will try anything in his willpower to make him remember.

"Also, I will be putting a person to keep a close eye with you and Kyo, to make sure that if anything strange happens, it will immediately be reported to me," Kurama nodded in understanding.

* * *

"What the hell are you doing in my school," Kurama dead panned as he stared at the spirit detective.

"No hi Yusuke or long time no see? After not seeing you for nearly a year, it was silly of me to actually think you'd be happy to see me," Yusuke clutched his hand to his heart in mock sadness. "Actually Koenma sent me, he said something about you trying to get back your buddy or somethin?" he said in a more serious tone.

"Yes I know that, but he sent you?" Kurama wondered for a second if Koenma made a mistake. He expected this "person" to be one of his spirit world employees, Sayaka if anything, not someone who actually knew him.

"Haaaa not really," Yusuke scratched the back of his neck, trying to explain. "Hiei's up in that tree right now," he pointed to the third tree on the left as Kurama made out a small shadowy figure. "Although he won't be up there for all, with winter and all."

"Wait Hiei too?" This was all getting very out of hand very fast. He originally thought that he would be dealing with this alone, having his teammates here might prove to be both a boon and a curse.

"And Kuwabara. Kind of. I sorta spilled the beans and he might be coming over next weekend or so. It'll be like a reunion!" Yusuke threw his arms up and wave excitedly, only stopping mid wave when he saw Kurama's reluctant face. "It was actually supposed to be Hiei watching you from the sidelines and stuff, but I kind of overheard and demanded to be a part of this," he smiled sheepishly.

"You _wanted _to be put on this case?," Kurama asked in disbelief. Why out of all cases would Yusuke want to be in one regarding his personal life.

"Eh, life back home is boring and Keiko keeps nagging me, so I thought, what the hell! It's time for a bit of a break. "

"Okay whatever, but you can't do anything out of the ordinary. Koenma should have already informed you that his name is Kyo and he is very much in fact human right now. And no calling me Kurama either," he warned.

"Yea yea I got it," Yusuke waved offhandedly. "How did you meet this guy anyways?"

"Strangely enough, he found me first," Kurama pondered, realizing that their chance at meeting was in fact, very serendipitous.

"Weird," Yusuke placed a finger on his chin, "If he went to you first, maybe it's like some kind of destiny thing," he laughed. "Like you're getting a second chance with him. He might not remember you now, but if something pulled him towards you, then maybe he kind of does. Deep down there or something."

"Yea maybe," Kurama replied. When Yusuke wasn't screwing around, he managed to make remarkable outside perspectives that Kurama always seemed to miss, and in a situation where he would most likely be clouded by emotional bias, it was good to hear someone's thoughts on this matter.

Yusuke slung an arm over Kurama's shoulder and pulled him close. "Don't worry, it'll be like old times," he grinned. Old times, that sounded nice. He was at a very confused point of his life, and having some familiarity, even when it came from his very non normal friends, put some ease back into his mind.

* * *

"My friends are coming to visit," Kurama explained in a strained voice. They both ate outside under a large heated patio umbrella since the little cafe was filled to the brim with university students.

Kyo laughed as he looked and Kurama quizzically. "You say that as if it's a bad thing."

"Well they're a bit.."

"Weird?" he guessed.

"Eccentric. Persistent. Slightly annoying at times," Kurama muttered. "But they're good people."

"As long as they're your friends, I don't really see what's wrong. I like you and I'm pretty sure I'll like the extensions of you," he held Kurama's hand under the table and squeezed it briefly. They still haven't put a name as to what they are but Kyo always made sure to put in fleeting displays of affection just to remind Kurama that who he belonged to. Kyo's grip suddenly tightened around his fingers as he narrowed his eyes and peered at the nearest lamp post.

"What's wrong?" Kurama asked, staring at the area where Kyo glared at.

"I didn't want to worry you or anything, but for the past few days I think someone has been following me," he whispered under his breath. "And it's definitely been that short guy over there."

He looked over to where Kyo was staring, and was surprised at how well hidden Hiei was,"Like I was saying, my friends are here to visit," he said unfazed as he motioned for Hiei to come over. The fire apparition scowled as he trodden through the thick snow.

"Wait the guy that has been stalking me is your friend?" Kyo looked at Hiei and then back to Kurama to make sure he was getting it correctly. "But he's wearing a dress," he gaped. Hiei was practically seething at this point as he glared at Kyo.

"It's a cloak idiot," Hiei said in a clipped tone.

"You're the one that's been following me," Hiei's eyes widened as he stared at Kyo in awe, unless this kid had some type of spirit awareness, it would be almost impossible to spot him.

"You're slipping Hiei, I guess you don't mask yourself as well as you think you do," Kurama took a long sip from his coffee, handing it to Hiei. "This is Hiei, he used to be my partner," he motioned to Kyo.

"Partner in..." Kyo asked, already feeling awkward over the height difference. If Kurama had any romantic history with this man, it would be awfully weird to picture.

"We used to work together," Kurama said, immediately easing whatever negative thought was harbored into Kyo's mind.

"Oh. That's cool I guess," Kyo was cautious around Hiei, treading in between politeness yet making sure to not seemed intimidated.

"This is him Kurama? He doesn't seem all that special," Hiei remarked, looking over the dark haired man. Kyo would have been offended if he wasn't so confused over Shuichi's given nickname.

"Kurama? I thought your name was Shuichi?"

Kurama narrowed his eyes at Hiei, and the fire apparition had the decency to look away in embarrassment when he realized he slipped. "It's a stupid nickname my friends gave me, just forget about it," he said hurriedly.

* * *

This plan was cruel. It was cruel, and mean, and kind of down right insane, but what better way for someone to remember their past life than to relive the most traumatic moment before their death.

"Remember, aim specifically for his legs," Kurama explained to a very eager Yusuke and Kuwabara.

"Wait why are we doing this again?" Kuwabara asked as he played with his bow.

"Before Kuronue died, his leg was penetrated by a bunch of spears."

"Isn't this sort of.. you know fucked up. What if he does come back but gets a bad case of PTSD," Yusuke asked.

"I'm sure it will be fine, Kuronue was never one to dwell on bad memories," Kurama waved off Yusuke's comment. "And he's always been really good at blocking attacks, except for of course when he died," he added.

"But we've never learned how to shoot arrows," Yusuke said nervously.

"That's even better, that means you guys will most likely miss then," he smiled. Yusuke and Kuwabara cringed at their red-headed friend, wondering what the hell caused Kurama to make such a stupid decision.

_Later that day... _

"I'm going to die, I swear to god someone is out to get me," Kyo clutched Kurama's shoulders as he shook the fox.

"Why what's wrong?" he felt slightly guilty. Kyo looked positively terrified.

"These two freaks kept trying to shoot arrows at my leg!" he yelled. "Like when it first hit me near my foot, I didn't really think anything of it since they apologized saying it was a mistake. BUT THEN THEY SHOT LIKE LITERALLY 30 ARROWS REPEATEDLY AT MY FUCKING FOOT," he screamed, causing a few pedestrians to stop and stare.

"Calm down, I'm sure they didn't mean to," he tried to reason out.

"Didn't mean to?!" he shrieked. "How do you manage to accidentally aim for my food with freakishly precise accuracy thirty fucking times!"

Whoops. At least he could tell Yusuke and Kuwabara that they were apparent naturals when it came to archery.

"And you don't feel anything?" he asked, trying to see if there was anything different about him, if this plan somehow worked.

"Unless you count terrified as an emotion, then yes I fucking feel feel fucking something!" he waved his arm animatedly for special effect. "Oh holy shit here they come," cowered behind Kurama, visibly shaking from fear.

Yusuke and Kuwabara ran with their bows and arrows in tow, waving at their teammate.

"You know them," he hissed, venom dripping from his tone.

"Uhh yea.. about that. The tall one is Kuwabara and the one with the slicked back hair is Yusuke," he replied somewhat reluctantly. The two boys awkwardly waved back as Kyo shot them death glares.

"Those are the two bastards that tried to decapitate my foot," he stayed hidden behind the red-head as he demanded for an explanation.

"Hey we told you it was an accident!" Yusuke yelled.

"What the fuck were you even trying to aim at you idiot!" he argued. "Did I have a target in my back that I forgot about or something?!"

"There was a bird right next to you, and it kept moving to where your leg was at," Kuwabara quipped in, trying his best to make the story as realistic as possible.

Kyo nodded in understanding, "Oh I see, I guess that makes sense."

"So you aren't mad at us?" Yusuke chided.

"Of course I'm mad at you dumbass! You basically tried to skewer me!" he fumed as he walked the opposite direction from the Urameshi team . Kurama didn't bother trying to chase him, he would talk to Kyo later about it.

"So that didn't go as well as we planned," Yusuke said slowly, breaking the awkward silence.

"Yea I don't think our impression was that great either. Is Kuronue the type to hold grudges?" Kuwabara asked. Cause I don't wanna be on someones hit list."

Kurama sighed, realizing this process was going to be a lot more work than he anticipated.

* * *

"Where did you say you got this pendant again," Kurama asked. He twirled it in front of him,watching the red stone glimmer brilliantly.

"If I tell you, are you going to finally explain to me why you're so obsessed with it?" he answered back. Kyo walked out of the shower with a towel on his waist, as he began drying his hair. Kyo had an athletic, yet slender build. Considering how defined his muscles looked, Kurama found it odd how pale he was. His long limbs made him appear taller than he really was, and he often stumbled on his own feet, but Kurama just found Kyo's clumsiness cute.

"I told you, my friend had something very similar to that. It just reminded me of him, that's all," Kurama laid the pendant down on the coffee table, staring hard at it.

"The friend you told me about," Kyo frowned as he grabbed the pendant and tossed it in the air. "He must have really been special if it caused that much of a reaction from you."

Kurama began getting irritated, knowing how close Kyo was to the truth, yet questioning why nothing has happened yet. Kyo wrote a report about himself for the love of god! If that wasn't enough to make him realize he wasn't Kuronue, Kurama didn't know what else could. Kyo turned around to face away from him and slumped his shoulders, obviously annoyed.

Kurama stared at Kyo's back in surprise. He didn't realize it before, mainly cause this was the first time he saw Kuronue without his shirt on, but Kyo had a large back piece that covered his mid back all the way to his biceps. It was feathered wings, starting from the center of his back, curving at his shoulder blades, and fanning out a little past his biceps. They were beautiful, and anatomically correct, Kurama noticed.

Without thinking, he pulled the raven-haired man from behind, until Kyo was seated on Kurama's lap. "You never told me you had a tattoo," Kurama mused.

"Do you hate it? It took me forever to sum up the courage to get it done, it's a shame I could never see it without using a mirror," Kyo sighed. "But it means a lot to me."

"Not at all, in fact, I find it suits you rather well," Kurama kissed the tip of his shoulders, trailing his lips all the way to Kyo's collar bone.

Kyo stared hard at his lap, refusing to turn around and look at the red-head. "Stop it, I'm supposed to be mad at you."

"And why is that," Kurama's fingers traveled south, until they reached Kyo's boxers. He lightly played with the hem of the fabric, causing Kyo's breath to suddenly hitch.

"You never tell me anything about your friend, you never even mention him," Kyo grabbed Kurama's hands, stopping him from going any further. He glared at Kurama's long and elegant fingers and intertwined them with his. "If he suddenly came back, if he never left, would you even bother sparing a glance at me," he said in a much more somber tone.

Kurama sighed and leaned his forehead against Kyo's back, right in the space where the two wings met. "Let's just say that I couldn't do that. I can't get rid of you just like I can't get rid of him. Both of you are like files in my head that I can't delete." In a funny way, it was true. He couldn't have Kuronue without having Kyo, and he realized that he should see them as the same person rather than separate entities. He remembered when he gained all his memories at the age of 10, scared at the fact that he couldn't quite understand who he was himself. It took him a good number of years before he completely disregarded Shuiichi and Kurama as different people, Shuiichi was merely the life he chose to live in the human realm. He was still the same ruthless soul, just in a different body.

Kyo scrunched his nose at the comment, "that was probably the worst analogy I have ever heard." Kyo stood up and turned around, only to sit face to face on Kurama's lap.

"I'm sorry, I'm not exactly the best when it comes to stating how I feel," Kurama apologized. That was such a cold hard fact, if he was more open, maybe Kuronue and him would have been together a lot earlier. "But what I'm saying is, I don't want you to change. You're not him and I don't want you to be, okay?" he pressed his fingers onto Kyo's cheek and pulled him forward.

"You're a sadistic bastard you know that? I spend nights, worried that I'll never be good enough, and when you irritate me to the point where I feel like I'm not good enough, you say things like that," he scowled, pulling Kurama's face and giving him a fiery kiss.

"Sorry," Kurama pulled Kyo down into another kiss, swallowing his own apology until they were rendered meaningless. He gripped Kyo's back, tracing his fingers until his arms rested on the tip of the wings. Kurama was obsessed with this man, Kyo consumed his thoughts more than he would like to admit, and he realized that he would be perfectly fine with just Kyo. Just like Shuiichi was an extension of him, Kyo would still be an extension of Kuronue, and that was already more than Kurama could ask for.

Kyo started to slowly unbutton Kurama's shirt, placing butterfly kisses from his clavicle until he reached his lips. He worked on Kurama's pants, unbuckling the belt at an almost agonizing pace before he heard a knock on the door.

"Don't you dare answer it," he murmured against Kurama's mouth.

Kurama let out an exasperated breath, equally as annoyed. "It might be someone important."

"We should have done it on that fucking desk," Kyo groaned, cursing at that choice he made in the past. He got up and stomped angrily into the bathroom.

"You're the one who stopped me!" Kurama laughed as he walked up to his door.

"Hey is Kyo here?" Yusuke stepped in, with Kuwabara and (surprisingly) Hiei not trailing too far behind.

"Huh, who's there?," Kyo replied from the bathroom. He came out in a dark purple hoodie and skinny jeans.

"I'm sorry, did we interrupt anything?" Yusuke asked, taking a seat on the coffee table.

"Not at all," Kyo replied through gritted teeth, staring strangely at the chair Kurama was sitting on a moment ago.

"Aw you're still not mad about that whole arrow to the knee incident right?" Kuwabara said apologetically. Ever since Kuwabara and Yusuke tried to detach his leg from the rest of his body, Kyo actually warmed up a bit to the guys. Not enough to fully be comfortable with them when they held sharp objects, but comfortable enough for light conversation.

"I told you about a billion times, it's fine," Hiei made a beeline towards the window sill, as he stared at the scene unfolding in front of him.

"Okay good, because we need a third player to play twister with us," Yusuke pulled Kyo's arm as he tried to struggle free.

"You can play twister with _two _people, you know that right?"

"It's gay with just two people," Kuwabara informed.

"And please tell me how adding another person will make it more heterosexual," Kyo tried to struggle free as Yusuke latched onto his other hand. He looked at Kurama in fear as they dragged him outside.

"I promise to remember you Kyo," Kurama chuckled as he went to the coffee table to straighten out some of the papers he was working on the night before.

Fake tears streamed down Kyo's face as he yelled out, "Forget about me! Save yourself!"

Kurama snapped his head forward, motioning for Yusuke to stop. "Kyo! What did you just say," Kurama said cautiously. Even with all the close similarities Kurama encountered, this was by far the first time where Kyo actually sounded like Kuronue.

"Uh I said forget about me. Save yourself?" Kyo replied with confusion. He stayed silent for a moment, not understanding the situation before his eyes suddenly widened. He lurched forward, as Kuwabara and Yusuke struggled to keep him upright. "I.. I said..," Kyo stiffened his posture, his face looking ten shades paler. "I said.. Save yourself," he muttered, as he fell to the floor.

"Kyo!" Kurama yelled, rushing to help his friend. Kyo stared at the fox his eyes reflecting pure horror.

"Save yourself Kurama," barely a second after the words left his mouth, he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

* * *

**(A/N: Thanks for all the wonderful comments guys! It made me feel all fuzzy and stupid inside. Anyways, if you like AU's and a sassy Youko Kurama, I have a new story up called Saturday's at Margeaux, it's Kuronue/Kurama and a bit heavier when it comes to content/ end shameless self advertising)**

**But seriously, you're all wonderful and you have rights to my organs. Also, that clusterfuck of a scene will be explained in the next chapter.**


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